1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to energy conversion circuits utilizing discharge tubes operating in the pulsed abnormal glow discharge (PAGD) regime.
2. Review of the Art
Such discharge tubes and circuits incorporating them are described in our copending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 07/922,863 and 07/961,531. The first of these applications discloses discharge tube constructions particularly suited for PAGD operation, and the second discloses certain practical applications of such tubes, particularly in electric motor control circuits. The review of the art contained in those applications is incorporated herein by reference, as is their disclosure and drawings.
It is known that there are anomalous cathode reaction forces associated with the cathodic emissions responsible for vacuum arc discharges, the origin and explanation of which have been the subject of extensive discussion in scientific literature, being related as it is to ongoing discussion of the relative merits of the laws of electrodynamics as variedly formulated by Ampere, Biot-Savart and Lorentz. Examples of literature on the subject are referenced later in this application.